LOS ANGELES, July 18 - With his frustration mounting this weekend over his inability to muscle a budget through the Legislature, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called his Democratic opponents "girlie men" and vowed to work to unseat them in November.

At an appearance on Saturday in Ontario, Calif., Mr. Schwarzenegger, a Republican, criticized the leaders of the Democratic-dominated Legislature, saying they were part of a political system that was "out of shape, that is out of date, that is out of touch and that is definitely out of control in Sacramento."

He said Democrats blocking his $103 billion proposal for the fiscal year that began July 1 were too weak to stand up to special interests like unions and trial lawyers who wanted changes in the budget.

"I call them girlie men," Mr. Schwarzenegger said of the Democrats, as hundreds of shoppers who had gathered to hear him speak roared their approval at the Ontario Mills megamall, about 40 miles east of Los Angeles. "They should get back to the table and they should finish the budget."

After a seven-month honeymoon in which the popular new governor won almost everything he wanted from the voters and their representatives, Mr. Schwarzenegger has crashed on the shoals of the notorious budgeting process in this state. He has become increasingly testy in recent days as negotiations have dragged on long past the June 30 constitutional deadline for enactment of a spending plan. Although it was the governor's decision to halt negotiations for the weekend, both sides said they were willing to return to the table on Monday.

Mr. Schwarzenegger has compared lawmakers to kindergartners who need a timeout and threatened to seek a constitutional amendment making the Legislature a part-time body. He is also appearing in the districts of vulnerable Democrats and promising to "terminate" those who stand in his way.

The "girlie men" remark was a play on a "Saturday Night Live" skit with the fictional bodybuilders Hans and Franz, who parodied Mr. Schwarzenegger's physique and accent, an aide to the governor said. But the comment resonated because of accusations that Mr. Schwarzenegger had repeatedly groped women during his Hollywood career and because of his occasionally demeaning remarks about women during his campaign for governor last fall, when his predecessor, Gray Davis, was recalled.

The target of some of those remarks, Arianna Huffington, the author and activist who ran against Mr. Schwarzenegger in that race, said in an interview on Sunday that the governor had a habit of resorting to verbal abuse when he did not get his way.

"What we've seen in Arnold is an alternation of the seducer and the bully," Ms. Huffington said. "Seduction worked for a while because he's a very charming man and the people were so relieved to be rid of Gray Davis and have someone entertaining in his place."

Ms. Huffington said the budget talks had tested the limits of Mr. Schwarzenegger's charm. "When the seduction doesn't work anymore, the bully comes out. The expression 'girlie man' is the bully speaking. It's not something you can imagine 99 percent of politicians saying."

Rob Stutzman, Mr. Schwarzenegger's spokesman, said the phrase was not intended to question the virility or sexual orientation of Democratic legislative leaders, who include some women. The governor was expressing his frustration with his opponents' refusal to pass his version of the budget, Mr. Stutzman said.

"It's his way of saying they're wimps, they're giving in to the special interests," he said.

"It's not just his frustration speaking," Mr. Stutzman added. "It's deliberate. It's tactical. The Democrats are acting in a partisan manner. If they continue to do so, he's going to take his case to the voters."

As for the assertion that the use of terms like "girlie men" is not customary in American political dialogue, Mr. Stutzman said, "There are a lot of things that are not normal in politics about this governor."

Fabian Nuņez, the Democratic speaker of the Assembly, said that when he first heard of the governor's comment, he was incredulous.

He said that he hoped that the governor's attitude did not further poison the atmosphere surrounding the budget negotiations, but that it would not affect his stance.

"The truth is I don't feel bullied by this guy," Mr. Nuņez said. "I don't have any insecurities about myself. I don't take that stuff personally."

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

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imokruok

What a fake uproar over the comments. One of the members of the assembly said his comments were an insult to all of the gay members of the government. Whatever...they're just pissed that he's got a sky-high approval rating, and he's been able to do nearly everything that he promised the voters.

His comments about the special interests are dead-on, and the comments can apply to both parties depending on the issue. But in this case, the Democrats want to keep their concessions to the unions and the trial lawyers, to the detriment of the taxpayers of the state of California.